Introduction

This was the championship match of Euro Cup II, featuring Norway vs. Italy. The match ended 2-1 with Norway winning in overtime to claim their first title.

Norway and Italy were both in Group A during the group phase. The two sides met in the first game of the tournament where Italy scored a few quick goals to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Norway were unable to catch up, and could only manage a late goal from B. H. Riise to make the final score 3-1.

Italy went on to defeat Sweden 3-1 and then Turkey 2-1 to finish unbeaten and win the group. Norway recovered with a 4-3 victory over Turkey, in which they led 4-1 but conceded two late goals, and then stunned neighbors Sweden with a 4-0 victory in a match that Ibrahimovic missed due to suspension.

Both sides had a very difficult path through the knockout round. Italy had to face Germany and then the Netherlands, and they managed to beat both of them by a score of 2-1. Norway had to face England in the quarterfinals, and had everything go right for them in the 4-0 win. They then had to take on the defending champions Spain in the semifinals, but again prevailed with a shutout, winning 2-0.

Starting Lineups

Norway

GK - E. Johnson
DF - Hangeland
DF - Hoiland
DF - Kah
DF - Riise
MF - Andrsen
MF - B. H. Riise
MF - Winsnes
MF - M. G. Pedersen
FW - Braaten
FW - Nevland
--
FW - Carew (72' for Braaten)
MF - Skjelbred (72' for B. H. Riise)
FW - J. King (82' for M. G. Pedersen)


Italy

GK - Buffon
DF - Barzagli
DF - Cannavaro
DF - Zambrotta
DF - Chiellini
MF - Montolivo
MF - Aquilani
MF - Perrotta
FW - Di Natale
FW - Quagliarella
FW - Toni
--
FW - Di Vaio (71' for Perrotta)
FW - Gilardino (71' for Di Natale)
DF - Grosso (77' for Chiellini)

Game Summary

The match was played with "player lock" on, and ZeekLTK controlled Norway midfielder B. H. Riise and then later Skjelbred for the match.

Both teams entered with depleted rosters, Norway were missing Iversen and Bertlesen who had both been injured in the semifinal victory over Spain. Italy were without their free kick star Pirlo, as he had picked up a red card in Italy's semifinal win over Netherlands. Both teams were also suffering fatigue. Norway dealt with this by leaving stars Carew and Skjelbred on the bench after they had worked so hard to help win the previous games. Andresen was also fatigued, but was ultimately chosen to start ahead of Grindheim to ensure that the starting lineup was not too depleted. On the other hand, Hoiland had sat out the semifinals, so he was fully rested to play central defense with Hangeland.

The match started off very tense, with both teams focusing on defense to prevent giving up any easy goals. Most of the first half was played in the midfield, with several fouls and few good chances. Italy actually had the better chances in the half, as potential top scorer Toni created a few nice shots, and even hit the post once, but he was not able to score. Norway's best chance came from a cross in which Nevland headed the ball off the post. Just as the match was about to head into half time, Italy were caught in possession. #23 took too long to clear the ball out of his own box and lost possession to Nevland, who quickly fired in a shot before Buffon had a chance to react, giving Norway a shocking 1-0 lead at the break.

In the second half Norway mostly tried to cling to their lead, but did go forward a little more. The team contained Italy well for the first 20 minutes of the half, but started to get nervous when Italy switched to a 3-3-4 formation. Norway countered by adding Carew and Skjelbred into the match, but it turned out to be a mistake from Skjelbred that allowed Italy to equalize, as he lost possession to Gilardino and then Quagliarella scored on the counter attack. To be fair, Norway were confused after Hangeland had taken out an Italian striker inside his own box just moments before and had somehow not been called for a penalty kick. In the 89th minute, J. King played a nice ball forward to spring Nevland on a breakaway for a chance to win the game. Nevland was 1v1 with the keeper, just as he had been when he scored against England in the quarterfinals, but unfortunately his shot was saved and then match went into overtime.

Neither team had any subs left for the extra period, and Italy suffered a blow when midfielder Aquilani went down injured. He was forced to stay on the field, but was not able to contribute much due to the injury. Norway played much better on defense than they had in the final 20 minutes of the game and prevented Italy from getting any good shots on goal. Then, a quick attack down the flank allowed Andresen to whip in a cross, which Nevland was able to get on the end of and head in to give Norway another stoppage time goal right before a half time. This goal also put him ahead on the overall top scorer list. With the 2-1 lead, Norway bunkered down for the last half of overtime and managed to hold on to win the Euro Cup!


Possession: NOR 47 - 53 ITA
Shots: NOR 11 - 16 ITA
On Target: NOR 4 - 7 ITA
Free Kicks: NOR 12 - 12 ITA
Corner Kicks: NOR 0 - 1 ITA
Offsides: NOR 0 - 2 ITA
Yellow Cards: NOR 3 - 0 ITA

Goals

Nevland stole the ball inside Italy's penalty box and scored in the 45th minute (this was his fourth goal of the tournament)

Quagliarella received a pass from Gilardino on a counter attack and scored in the 77th minute (this was his first goal of the tournament)

Nevland headed in a cross from Andresen in the 105th minute (this was his fifth goal of the tournament and won him the scoring title)

Last modified: ?3?/?10?/?2015? ?12?:?00?:?52? ?PM